Chapter 7
Even though she still had a mountain of debt to repay, Nivellia never gave up on her dream of becoming rich.
Today’s task was helping Caleo move a box full of scrap paper.
She lost focus halfway through and escaped into doodling for a bit—but she still finished the job perfectly in the end.
“Whew…”
Nivellia wiped her clean little forehead with the back of her hand, pretending to be exhausted.
“Thanks for helping, Nini.”
Caleo stuck a new sticker onto her Debt Reduction Certificate.
“One, two…”
Nivellia began calculating her remaining debt. Her certificate was already almost fully covered in purple stickers.
“Wow! Only 9 more stickers to go! Then my debt’s gone!”
“Impressive. Even grown-ups struggle to pay back debt this fast.”
Caleo patted her head proudly. Nivellia giggled and leaned her head against his arm.
“Dad, once I finish paying off my debt, should I start another business?”
“Hm… I think you’ll probably go bankrupt again…”
“No, I won’t! This time I’ll do it right!”
“What if, instead of selling stuff, you tried earning money a different way?”
Nivellia’s ears perked up.
But Caleo didn’t answer right away.
“Hmm… though it might be a little too difficult for Nini.”
“I’ll study! I’ll study really hard!”
Nivellia grabbed her father by the collar, demanding he teach her.
Moved by his daughter’s intense ambition, Caleo choked up.
“H-hang on, ack—Nini, my neck—!”
“Teach me! Teach me now!”
“Okay, okay—just let go first…!”
After finally escaping her grip, Caleo straightened his ruffled collar.
Behind him, his secretary burst into loud laughter. Caleo pretended not to hear it… for now. That guy would get it later.
“Do you know what investment means?”
“Investment?”
Nivellia tilted her head.
Caleo tried to explain it as simply as possible.
“Let’s say someone wants to start a business, but they don’t have money. Then Nini comes along and lends them money. And they use that money to make the business really successful.”
“Then Nini gets jealous! I should’ve kept the money!”
Caleo dropped his face into both hands.
The secretary had his head down on the desk, shoulders shaking with stifled laughter. Even Deter bit her lip, trying not to laugh as she stared off into the distance.
Ahem. Caleo composed himself and continued.
“Anyway, the business succeeds thanks to your help, right?”
“So I feel worse…”
“Just hear me out! That person made money, right? So they’ll give you a portion of what they earned as a thank-you.”
“They have to give back the money they borrowed!”
“It’s more than that,” Caleo said, finally getting to the key point.
“They give you a share of their profits.”
Nivellia’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open in awe.
“Not just the money they borrowed?!”
“That’s right! Let’s say they made 100 uba. Then they’d give you 10 uba as a thank-you.”
“There’s a way to earn money that easily?!”
“But,” Caleo warned, “if they fail at their business, you won’t get any of your money back.”
“Hmm, so… let me see…”
Nivellia tried to summarize what she’d just learned.
“They use the money I lend them to start a business. If they make money, they give me a part of it. That part’s extra—not just the borrowed money!”
“Exactly!”
Having learned something brand new, Nivellia raced back to her room.
She sat at her desk with a serious look on her face and began revising her entire get-rich plan.
“Nini’s going to make money through investments now!”
“Where are you planning to invest?”
Deter asked as she brought Nivellia her snack—chocolate cookies and a glass of milk.
Nivellia answered while cramming a cookie straight into the milk. Her tiny fingers dipped deep, soaking in milk until they turned pale.
“Mom!”
The richest woman in the empire—Celletina Deiamor.
“Mom always succeeds.”
“You’re right. If you want to get your money back, you have to invest in someone successful.”
But when Celletina returned home from work, she politely turned down her daughter’s investment offer.
“Mom already has waaay, waaay, waaaaay too much money. I don’t really need investments—what should we do?”
“Hnnngh…”
Nivellia collapsed dramatically onto the floor in despair.
“Hehe, don’t give up already.”
Celletina scooped her up into a warm hug.
“That’s why it’s best to invest early—that’s when you can earn money. Or, you could invest in someone who hasn’t succeeded yet.”
“But if they fail, I won’t get my money back…”
“You understood that already?”
Celletina was impressed that her daughter had grasped the concept of risk.
As a reward, she offered some help.
“Want me to introduce you to a few places that would be good for Nini to invest in?”
“Yes! Introduce them!”
“But Nini…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any money?”
“…Ugh, that money again!”
KYAAAH!
Nivellia screamed as she clutched her hair in frustration.
“Why is money like this?! Why is money so evil?!”
“Money’s awful, isn’t it? But the truth is, you need money to make money.”
That’s just the way the world works.
Celletina patted her daughter gently, helping her endure the cruel reality of economics.
Still sniffling, Nivellia calmed down and mumbled,
“Do the other side too…”
So Celletina gave her a pat on the left buttcheek too, as requested.
That night.
While Soles and Nivellia were fast asleep, the adults gathered for a light drink.
As their conversation deepened, the food and wine on the table steadily disappeared.
“You know… Nini really is something,” Caleo murmured in quiet admiration.
“She’s my daughter, but I didn’t expect her to have this much grit.”
“It’s been two years now, hasn’t it?” Celletina said, folding down two fingers as if counting.
Nivellia’s journey to become rich was already in its second year.
Which, for her, was literally half her life.
But even as a four-year-old noble girl from one of the empire’s highest houses, the world hadn’t gone easy on her.
She tried everything.
Digging in the dirt for coins. Running errands for 100 uba a task. Buying lottery tickets with her savings. Betting on which adult would win in a card game.
Every attempt ended in failure.
And so, Nivellia kept falling into debt.
Her Debt Reduction Certificates, plastered in purple stickers, had now surpassed twenty sheets.
That meant she’d been in debt every month.
So why—why was Nivellia so desperate to become rich?
“Everyone remembers, right?” Caleo asked with a bittersweet smile.
“When Nini came home with a live mouse in her mouth.”
“The entire estate was in chaos,” said Ardores, recalling the memory vividly.
It was during a sunny lunch in the garden pavilion.
The family had gathered for a meal, and Nivellia had been off looking at flowers with Soles.
Then, out of nowhere, she came running back—something in her mouth.
A live mouse.
The adults had been stunned.
When Nivellia showed up with a live mouse in her mouth, they rushed her off to brush her teeth and called the physician to check for any injuries.
Rather than scolding her, they calmly asked why she did it.
“Nini’s a kitty!”
She was a cat, so she had to hunt.
That was the reason Nivellia had given.
Muniel, her grandmother, gently explained to her granddaughter—who firmly believed she was a feline.
“Nini, you’re a person now. You can’t carry mice in your mouth.”
“But I’m a kitty…”
“Well, look—you have hands and feet like Grandma. No fur. No tail either.”
“……”
“People don’t hunt mice. They hunt money.”
“Money?”
“You use money to buy food, houses, clothes. So Nini should hunt money instead. It’s a lot harder than catching mice—but do you think you can do it?”
“Yeah!”
And from that day on, Nivellia began her pursuit of wealth.
“…Thinking back on it now, it’s still so funny.”
Muniel swirled her wine glass as she laughed softly.
“That sweet little face that couldn’t hurt a fly… with a live mouse dangling from her lips.”
“Please don’t talk like she’s not yours. She’s your granddaughter,” said Celletina.
“Don’t forget—she’s your daughter first.”
“Well, Soles never did anything like that.”
“Nini’s definitely more like you. You and your sister were such little troublemakers. My grandson, on the other hand—so calm and polite. Just like his mother.”
Muniel turned to Celletina with a knowing look. Celletina only smiled sheepishly in response.
“But wasn’t there another reason too…?”
“Maybe… the wolf?”
It was the first time that night that Ardores spoke, quietly sipping his drink.
“That’s right. The wolf.”
Nivellia’s love for her wolf plushie was deep and unwavering.
“She still loves it to this day.”
“I wonder why she’s so attached to that thing. Even as a baby…”
“Speaking of wolves…”
Knock knock.
Muniel tapped her fingers against the table, regaining control of the conversation.
“In a few days, we’ll be receiving a guest at the estate.”
“A guest of yours, Mother?”
Celletina asked curiously.
“Well… more like…”
Muniel paused for a beat, then gave a sly smile.
“…it’s more accurate to say he’s Nini’s guest.”
“The Duke of Deigladys is coming.”
“Really?”
Nivellia’s ears perked up, still half-asleep.
She was sitting at her vanity, getting her hair brushed by Deter, while the other maids in the room chatted away as they tidied the bedroom.
“How come men who are perfect in both face and body are always already taken?”
“Because they don’t want to marry you, maybe.”
“Thanks for proving our friendship’s dead, you traitor.”
“I swear, he’s got some kind of internal muscle-producing organ. Those thighs! Like a horse’s!”
“Does he eat only grass? Horses do, and they’ve got tons of muscle…”
“No, it’s all the movement! That’s why he’s so solid!”
A sharp little voice chimed in.
“He moves a lot, so he doesn’t get fat!”
The room went silent. Deter, mid-brush, froze along with the other maids.
“Horses move a lot, so they don’t gain weight!”
“…Our young lady is very observant, isn’t she?”
“Nini moves a lot too! That’s why I’m not fat!”
Nivellia hopped down from the chair proudly.
And her round little belly—extra prominent in that moment—puffed out for all to see.
“……”
Nivellia blinked as she glanced at Deter and the other maids.
“…Did none of you move around much?”
